Leonids keep the world up
By Julia Kim
Staff Writer
It was the Perseids in August. Orionids in October. In November, it’s the Leonid meteor shower. The meteor shower peaked early this morning, more prominent in some areas than others; maximum activity was expected sometime from 3:30 to 5:30 a.m. EST. Compared to the expected 200 to 300 meteors visible per hour over Asia, there are only 20 to 30 meteors expected to be seen per hour over the Americas.
Although I did not indulge in observing the Leonids, experts say the shower is visible to the naked eye; in addition, the moon is not a factor because it has started a new phase on Nov. 16. With darker skies, meteors were expected to appear brighter.
Furthermore, the show was predicted to be remarkable because the planet Mars is passing nearby at the time of the showers. The meteors were expected to be seen shooting directly out of the planet. However, this year’s Leonids are mild compared to the showings in previous years.
The Leonid shower is created by the Tempel-Tuttle comet which streaks through the inner solar system every 33 years on its orbit around the sun. Its leaves a streak of debris each time meteors pass by. When the debris plows into the Earth, they hit the atmosphere and vaporize which creates dramatic streaks of light.
